What to See & Do in Lymington

Milford on Sea is next to the sailing mecca & historic high street of Lymington & is well worth a visit.

Lymington is a quintessential Georgian market town & world renown as a national sailing centre. The High Street boasts glorious architecture, with a host of boutique shops, designer & high street brands, coffee shops and restaurants. The High Street hosts a impressive market every Saturday & flows into a cobbled lane which leads down to the Old Town Quay. The Royal Lymington Yacht Club & Lymington Town Yacht Club sit on the Lymington River, as does an open-air seawater swimming bath that was built in 1833.

Lymington Old Town Quay & Marinas. The Old Town Quay is a hive of nautical & leisure activities, with a good pubs, restaurants, ice cream parlours & boutique shops, all connected to the town centre through an historic cobbled lane. It is also home to two marinas & the Isle of Wight ferry terminal. The harbour sits on a picturesque two miles long estuary flowing into Lymington River. The entrance channel from the sea lye's between the historic salt marshes. The Lymington River & estuary is used daily by yachtsmen, fishermen, pleasure cruises, and the Isle of Wight ferry.

Lymington Millennium Bandstand: The Quay, Lymington
The Lymington bandstand hosts regular summer performances from local bands, featuring with a variety of music from traditional brass bands to jazz & blues Click link to see programme of band performance dates.

Lymington Market: Lymington was granted a charter (a document granting the townspeople certain rights), by the then Lord of the manor, William de Redvers when he made Lymington a town around 1195. The charter gave Lymington given the right to hold a market. The market is still held every Saturday & runs along the entire High Street to the quay. This weekly event is very popular & has numerous stalls with a wide variety of goods on sale.

St. Barbe Museum & Art Gallery: New Street, Lymington, SO41 9BH | Tel: 01590 676969
The Museum explores the unique history of Lymington and the New Forest Coast. The colourful, hands-on displays chart Lymington's development as a market town and port and looking at the smugglers, salt makers and boat builders who have used the Solent shore. The art galleries host an exclusive programme of exhibitions that regularly include works on loan from national and regional collections.

Lymington Open Air Seawater Baths: Bath Road, Lymington, SO41 3RU
The sea water baths date back to the 1780s & the current pool is ranked as the largest along the south coast. The pool is 90m by 30m & fed by unheated sea water which is chlorinated to prevent algae forming. After various owners the local Corporation acquired it in 1929. The baths are now owned by Lymington Town Council, but are closed until further notice.

Lymington Town Tours:

Walks take place on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings throughout the summer months. Each walk covers a different aspect of the history of the town and some fascinating questions are answered. No need to book, just select which walk you would like to go on from the walks page and turn up at the start point a few minutes before the walk time shown to meet the guide.

Lymington Centre Cinema: New Street, Lymington, SO41 9BQ | Tel: 01590 672337
The Centre Cinema is a proper cinema within Lymington Community Centre, it features genuine cinema seats and real usherettes and it shows the latest films. To find out the programmes for the next few weeks click link.

Wightlink Isle of Wight Ferry: Sailing daily from Lymington to Yarmouth IOW.
Take a day return with or without your car & explore the Isle of Wight for a day. For foot passengers bus tours are available to the Islands main attractions, including seeing Milford from The Needles!

Sea Fishing:

Royal Lymington Yacht Club: Bath Road, Lymington, SO41 3SE | Tel: 01590 672677
RLYC was founded in 1922, their objective is to be "Successful on the water, friendly and welcoming ashore". The club has members of all skills & ages, and are proud to have members who represented their country in the GBR Team at the Olympics. The club has an active clubhouse with restaurant & social events. The clubs patron is Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal.

Lymington Town Sailing Club: Bath Road, Lymington, SO41 3SE | Tel: 01590 674514
The club is based next to the Lymington River with access to the public slipway at all states of the tide. LTSC is a family orientated Sailing Club which provides a wide range of Social, Sailing and Information Services to its members. The Solent Room with stunning views of the River provides a restaurant & bar.

Salterns Sailing Club: Off Maiden Lane, Lymington.
The Salterns is a sailing club for children where they can learn to enjoy sailing and gain experience in organisation and administration of a sailing club. The sailing area is an 8 acres pond, created from an old saltpan. The depth is about one metre, except in one corner where it is about 2 metres. The Club is entirely run by volunteers. Boats sailed: British Moths, Optimists and Scows.

Lymington Rowing Club: Bath Road, Lymington, SO41 3RU
Lymington Rowing Club was established in 1881. The clubhouse can be found on the corner of Quay Road in Lymington. The club has always promoted the fun & social side of the sport as well as the serious aspect of competitive rowing. If you would like to try rowing for a bit of fun or if you are an established rower wishing to train hard please get in touch or just go along to the club house.

Lymington RNLI Lifeboat Station: The Boathouse, Bath Road, Lymington, SO41 3SE.
The inshore lifeboat station was established in May 1965 & now houses a 1992 Atlantic 75 rigid inflatable lifeboat. (Named: Victor 'Danny' Lovelock.) Open Days held at various times throughout the year.

Skate Park: Woodside Park, Rookes Lane, Lymington, SO41.
The skateboarding park has a 6 x 2 5s, 2 x 2 3s, a box, a drive thru, a flat bank, and a spine. An excellent facility for local teenagers to display their skills.

Lymington Reedbeds Wildlife Reserve: The nature reserve is 79 acres & one of the largest reedbeds on the south coast. The reedbeds sit either side of the mouth of Lymington River. The reeds are used by large numbers of swallows; reed and sedge warblers are summer residents; Cettis warblers nest some years; water rails are common but rarely seen; a pair of buzzards usually nest on the west side and sea trout migrate up the river to spawn. These is a bridleway which runs along part of the eastern boundary, but there is no access within the reedbeds. A good view of the reserve can be had from Bridge Road. Parking is possible on Undershore Road in Lymington.

Lymington WW2 Airfield: Snooks Farm, Walhampton, Lymington. Built in 1943, the airfield was used by American Thunderbolt aircraft from the 50th Fighter Group in support of the D-day landings. The airfield was returned to farming in 1946. Today a single blister hangar remains together with a plaque showing the Lymington Airfield World War Two history.

St. Thomas’ Church: High Street, Lymington.
The church sits in a dominant position at the top of the High Street hill. The church has parts which date back to 1250 & features a distinctive bell tower. In the 17th century the Puritan soldiers used the church as a fortification to command the town which in turn left the building with extensively damage. In February 2006 the church became Grade II listed as a building of special architectural & historic interest. A past curate of the church, Henry Lyte, wrote the famous hymn “Abide with me”.

St John the Baptist Church: Boldre, Near Lymington. The church is located in an idylic setting on the edge of the New Forest. The traditional stone built Boldre Church has been the home of the public annual service of commemoration for the lost crew of the HMS Hood during WW2. It was the favourite church of Hood's last commanding Admiral, Lancelot E. Holland. He and his wife donated a porch and door dedicated to their son John who died in 1936. A corner of the church is dedicated to HMS Hood. The area, known as the 'Hood Chapel' contains a number of Hood related items including an ornate Roll of Honour, a gun tampion, a large painting by the late artist Montague Dawson and models of both Hood and Bismarck.

St. Dominics Priory: Shirley Holms Road, Boldre, Lymington, SO41 8NH | Tel: 01590 681874
An activite priory of The Dominican Sisters of St. Joseph to the Dominican Order, which is open all year round (except for Christmas and the New Year). The modern priory and has seven guest rooms, single, double and en-suite. The nun's welcome all who wish to enjoy pray and the peace and quiet of the Priory.

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight: Just a short ferry ride from Lymington, Yarmouth is a small town that has grown up as a result of its natural harbour, which is guarded by Yarmouth Castle, a fortification built by Henry VIII in 1547. The quaint narrow streets contain numerous interesting shops, bars & restaurants for all tastes. There are also delightful walks along the banks of the River Yar. The town has a real ‘yachting feel’ & is certainly worth exploring on a day trip.